New study finds differences in concussion risk between football helmets

...Football helmets can be designed to reduce the risk of concussions ac...The study analyzed head impact data compiled from eight collegiate foo...The manuscript reports a 54 percent reduction in concussion risk for p...The sensors in the helmets measured head acceleration for each impact ...

Football helmets can be designed to reduce the risk of concussions, according to a new study by some of the nation's leading concussion researchers published today in the Journal of Neurosurgery.

The study analyzed head impact data compiled from eight collegiate football teams that included Virginia Tech, University of North Carolina, University of Oklahoma, Dartmouth College, Brown University, University of Minnesota, Indiana University, and University of Illinois. Six years of data were collected between 2005 and 2010. During this time a total of 1833 players wore helmets that were equipped with sensors to measure the biomechanics of over one million head impacts. All players either wore a Riddell VSR4 or Riddell Revolution helmet. The researchers compared the rates of concussion between the two helmet types.

The manuscript reports a 54 percent reduction in concussion risk for players in the Riddell Revolution compared to players in the VSR4 helmet. "This is the first study to control for the number of times players hit their heads when comparing helmet types," said Steve Rowson, lead author and an assistant professor in the Virginia Tech Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. "No previous study has been able to account for this variable. Controlling for head impacts allows you to compare apples to apples. For example, you're not comparing a player in one helmet who rarely gets hit to a player in another helmet type who frequently gets hit."

The sensors in the helmets measured head acceleration for each impact players experienced. Players in the VSR4 helmets experienced higher head accelerations resulting from impact than players in Revolution helmets. The authors attribute this to the Revolution helmets better modulating the energy transfer from the impact to the head, which results in lower head accelerations. "Helmets that better lower head acceleration reduce concussion risk," Rowson said.

The authors stress that no helmet will ever be able to prevent all concussions. "While some helmets will reduce risk more than others, no helmet can eliminate risk," said Stefan Duma, professor and head of the Virginia Tech Wake Forest School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences. Better helmet design is just one of many strategies that play a role in reducing concussions in football. "The most effective strategies are altering league rules and teaching players better techniques. These strategies focus on reducing the number of head impacts that players experience," Duma added. "However, head impacts in football will always occur, even with the best rules and technique. This is where improving helmet design to best reduce concussion risk becomes critical. Our data clearly demonstrate that this is possible."

(Date:7/31/2018)... Calif. (PRWEB) , ... July 31, 2018 , ... ... to connect seamlessly with LabArchives , the leading cloud-based Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) ... and LabArchives enables researchers to store all of their research data records in a ...

(Date:7/26/2018)... ... ... The Conference Forum has confirmed the agenda for the 5th Annual Mobile in ... Copley Place in Boston, MA. , Daniel Karlin, MD, Head of Experimental Medicine, Informatics, ... the discussion on how and when to implement mobile/digital technology in clinical trials and ...

(Date:8/9/2018)... ... August 08, 2018 , ... ActX introduces GenoACT(sm), a ... updated by a talented scientific team that includes geneticists, PharmD’s, genetic counselors, and ... Information on the medical impact of a patient’s genetic variants , 2. Educational ...

(Date:8/9/2018)... ... August 09, 2018 , ... Rockland Immunochemicals, ... Dr. Birte Aggeler, Director of Antibody Development at Bio-Techne, composed a peer-reviewed article ... published online on August 9, 2018 and will be printed in the September ...

(Date:8/1/2018)... ... August 01, 2018 , ... ... announces research results on the significant impact of a proprietary biofield energy ... , The preclinical research assessed biomarkers for systemic and organ-specific inflammation, as ...